In the midst of the Houston Texans‘ Week 13 victory over the Indianapolis Colts, the defensive end game together to force a pretty challenging day for Offensive Player of the Year frontrunner, Jonathan Taylor.
Within one of his quieter performances of the season thus far against Houston, Taylor had 21 carries for 85 total yards without a score, coming out to be one of just four weeks this season in which the Colts running back has been limited to under 100 yards without a touchdown.
That defensive prowess was one of a few factors that led to the Texans’ end result looking like it did, and in the mind of head coach DeMeco Ryans, that success centered upon one critical factor: tackling.
“[Jonathan] Taylor, he’s a tough back. I thought our guys did a really good job of tackling,” Ryans said the day after the game. “
That’s what allowed us to really stop the run, not allowing those guys to get over 100 yards. It was how we tackled.”
“Everybody tackled really well from our safety to our linebackers, d-linemen, and if one got missed, my guys were still there. We swarmed the football, did a really good job of tackling.”
DeMeco Ryans Credits Texans’ Tackling for Success on Jonathan Taylor
While not the flashiest day for the Texans defense with just one sack and zero turnovers, they held this Colts offense in check both through the air and on the ground, that kept not only Taylor limited, but the entire collective falling to their lowest point total for a single game this season.
That run-stopping efficiency has been a consistent trend for the Texans throughout the season too. Houston is top-five in the NFL for rushing yards allowed per game (91.7), is top-10 in run-stuff rate (17.9%), and is top-ten in rushing touchdowns allowed (eight).
That strength would be put to a true test against the Colts and their offensive machine, and it turns out this unit would wind up delivering in a big way.Â
Nov 30, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Houston Texans safety Calen Bullock (2) brings down Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor (28) at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Christine Tannous-USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images | Christine Tannous-USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images
Especially getting deeper into the regular season, having the ability to keep that opposing explosiveness in the backfield limited will be critical to finding that sustained success, and by stumping the league’s current rushing leader, Ryans’ crew proved more than capable of having that ability to do so moving forward into a massive stretch of the year.
They’ll have one more meeting against Taylor on the horizon for what will be each’s final game of the season in Week 18. Time will tell if the Colts runner will be able to redeem himself for the second time around, but at least for the moment, the Texans are the ones with the bragging rights.
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